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Topic: My first crack at a deep dish pizza (Read 5555 times)

I love the idea behind this style of pizza. Turn it upside down and bake it like a pie. Genius!

It took two weeks (and an extra five kilos around the belly) but I've finally got a delicious pizza that looks sort of like the deep dish pizzas that I have seen on this board.

I'm lucky enough to have a pizza shop to play in. Dough mixers make life so easy! But on the other hand, things like the dough forumlation, brand of pizza sauce etc are out of my control - at the moment at least - so this pizza was made without both the cornmeal and semolina that your recipies call for. It looks like my pizza could be a bit taller too.

So I started with a layer of pizza cheese on the bottom, then pepperoni, ham, onions, capsicum, garlic, herbs, and a tomato / salsa mix on top with a bit of parmesan.....

Bloody delicious!!

So what do you think? Have I got the concept right? We do not do this style of pizza at all in Melbourne (I have searched all over for it) so I'm shooting in the dark a little.

Sauce sounds pretty decent to me. A nice, full flavor with a bit of zing to it, right?

There's purists for every style - chicago, new york, neapolitan, you name it. I should not have weighed in on what constitutes a genuine CDD, because I'm not a purist. I just appreciate things that taste great. That said, I will have to give that % of semolina a try in my next cast-iron CCD. Thanks for the tip, widespread!

Your plan for making a bit of a stronger, firmer crust with a longer, lower-temp bake sounds feasible. With this style, it's hard to go really wrong. It's more a stereotypical "pie" than most pizza styles. That said, I still wouldn't expect to be able to pick it up off the plate and eat it like a slice if it's hot. A big part of the appeal is the steamy, gooey inside. Sort of like lasagna.

Sauce sounds pretty decent to me. A nice, full flavor with a bit of zing to it, right?

Exactly. I couldn't use just plain tomato pizza sauce on this pizza. It is such a dominant flavour that it needs a bit of zing to keep it interesting. I also tried a meatlovers with garlic, tomato and bbq sauce combo - very exciting combination that one.

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Your plan for making a bit of a stronger, firmer crust with a longer, lower-temp bake sounds feasible. With this style, it's hard to go really wrong. It's more a stereotypical "pie" than most pizza styles. That said, I still wouldn't expect to be able to pick it up off the plate and eat it like a slice if it's hot. A big part of the appeal is the steamy, gooey inside. Sort of like lasagna.

How do you get this 'gooey'-ness? Is it the type or quantity of cheese? Or would a stuffed pizza be the way to go, with a dough lid and the sauce on top of that?

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What are your plans for this? Are you hoping to add it to your menu?

I am but a humble store manager in a national chain. I will file this knowledge away, and in five years, or in ten, when I have my own store, I will show Melburnians what they have been missing out on.

How do you get this 'gooey'-ness? Is it the type or quantity of cheese? Or would a stuffed pizza be the way to go, with a dough lid and the sauce on top of that?

Stuffed's been done, certainly. There are several CCD places that specialize in that and have rabid fans.

If you are up for a little experimenting with your gooey characteristics, you could try cubing your cheese larger so that the meat grease has a chance to trickle in and isolate cheese pockets while baking. One of the best goo-pizzas I have ever had was a place in Washington, DC during the ' 70's called Armando's. It was a cheese deep dish, and I believe what they did was cut irregular chunks of mozz, drizzle with olive oil, then top with sauce. The olive oil helped to keep it from all melting into a solid layer. It may also have been propped up with some other kind of cheese with a higher melting point as a divider. Fun stuff to fool around with.

Pizza in Chicago is a real meal. In many other places, it is considered fast food. But not there. And for deep dish, the wait is expected. Time for drinks, good company, and good cheer.

+10... The reason so many good deep dish places have some entertainment as well. When you do get your own place, consider building a stage in the dining area and offering live music, stand-up comedy, etc. All part of the experience, and if your customers know Chicago primarily from the movies and musicals, could be a great theme. Roaring 20's. Jazz. Jessica Rabbit. Amirite?

There is no cornmeal or semolina in any of the famous ones. It's a myth to throw people off.

Sliced cheese only on the bottom, no shredded stuff.

Have fun!

I'm not so sure about that one.....cornmeal, yes that is a myth. And Geno's use of yellow food coloring is a bit strange. But I've never had a Uno's (the real place) that didn't noticeably have a 'lil semolina snap to it. I think Malnati openly states there is a bit of semolina in their dough.

+10... The reason so many good deep dish places have some entertainment as well. When you do get your own place, consider building a stage in the dining area and offering live music, stand-up comedy, etc. All part of the experience, and if your customers know Chicago primarily from the movies and musicals, could be a great theme. Roaring 20's. Jazz. Jessica Rabbit. Amirite?

You may very well be right about the semolina, Bob. I should throw out the caveat that it was a long, long time ago that I lived there and never tasted semolina. Or perhaps it's just my faulty old memory?

People sure did wait at least a half hour, but true Chicago deep dish is an event, not just a meal...

I don't ever recall reading or hearing that Malnati's uses semolina for its deep-dish dough. At one time, there was a YouTube video on how the Malnati's dough was made, and all that was shown was regular bags of flour. Shortly thereafter, the video was taken down.